ONE
I remember back when I was starting out as a child psychologist in 1994. I had only occupied that new downtown office for a few weeks when Maggie Swanson brought her two sons to see me. I recall that encounter as if it were yesterday. It was to change my outlook on intelligence forever.
During the interview, Maggie was going on and on about Frank, her older son by one year, the ‘smart one’ as she put it. Joshua, the younger one, in spite of his 16 years of age, had simply come because she was worried about leaving him alone at home.
A mid-afternoon Summer sun was dancing around my office playing hide-and-seek with all the knick-knacks on my shelves. As I was taking notes, Maggie was comfortably sitting inches from my desk in her elegant indigo dress, her right hand on Frank’s shoulder, so as to include him in the conversation. Joshua was quietly sitting on his own near my psychology books, he looked captivated, focusing on every title.
Maggie was explaining how bright Frank was. He was a straight-A student, his teachers were very proud of him, his memory was tremendous, especially in the areas he was passionate about, he was very witty, he was very knowledgeable. When, intrigued, I inquired about Joshua, she waved her hands as if to dismiss him entirely. She explained how goofy he was, always day-dreaming, always believing stupid things. He didn’t seem to have any real friends, whereas Frank, in spite of a somewhat haughty demeanor and harsh humor, was very popular.
Maggie was quite the successful woman, she had built her own business, was well respected in the community, and according to her, boasted an I.Q. of 120 which put her among the individuals of superior intellect. She needed to establish whether Frank was in that range or maybe even above her, in all probability to tell all her jealous friends about it, I anticipated, amused.
I agreed to subject Frank to an I.Q. test the next week, but as she seemed worried about Joshua, I convinced her to get him tested too so as to help him get a more fulfilled life in case he turned out to be neurologically deficient.